When food just wont stay in!!! What to do?!

[lygray]

 Hello everyone. There is a story with my bun, Lola. Every year she has had a recurring abscess under her left eye. After being told the teeth were extracted, I found recently they actually were not and they were the cause for the last two years. I have moved to a wonderful vet who knows a lot about rabbits, finally! Here I have already gone through three vets that just didnt know what they were doing. I have finally found a great vet for Lola. 

Anyways. She just went through surgery yesterday and Dr. Davis uses the open wound method to completely heal the area. She extracted two teeth and half of another (for now, Lola will need a dental procedure sooner than later to continue and take out other suspicious teeth). I feel completely confident with Dr. Davis. Lola is in bad shape with a cone around her head and not able to clean herself. I placed a towel under her last night because she would pee where she was instead of move to the litter box. Just now, she actually went to the litter box…YAY! However, she is having a hard time drinking water. I had a bottle in the cage but she used the metal feeder to itch her wound so I took it out and fed her a bowl that is relatively low profile so she can reach the water. She dives in for a sip and then that’s it…her collar is in the way for more. She is getting used to walking around, lying down, and jumping the levels of the cage but still trying to clean herself…she is a little stinky.

My big questions are as follows: I am worried she wont get enough water, should I still use the bottle feeder for her water supply? She has not eaten and has no interest to eat. I placed some food under her last night and she never ate it. Same with this morning. She is missing a little hay though so I think she ate some of that, very little though. Dr. Davis gave me some of the OXBOW critical care food to mix with water for her in case she wont eat but she wont eat that either…I then tried to syringe feed it to her…worked a little but they started leaking out of her wound. Do i need to clean her wound now? Does this mean I cannot syringe feed her? I dont know what to do about this. Her poops are kinda mushy…but she is pooping. She seems a little active but not very much…

What are major signs other than not eating or diarrhea that i should look out for. Dr. Davis wants me to call her tomorrow/take her in if the eating situation continues…will do! 

Do i need to clean her wound full of food now? How do i feed her if she wont eat?

I’m very nervous, scared, and worried! I know a lot about caring for rabbits ( I researched most of what my other doctor knows now) but I have never been placed in this situation before… Wounds like this get me light headed, she is weak, I just need some help from anyone to help me through this or walk me through this. 

Dr. Davis has had very good results on other rabbits doing this procedure but I am inexperienced in this type of recovery. HELP!!!

[bunnytowne]

she may be in pain and not wantng to eat.  Try some of her fav vegies and a treat or 2.  And if it continues I would check with the vet which I am sure you will do.  you sound very concerned about your baby.  Does bun have pain meds? That might help

[lygray]

 Ok, I can give her some cantaloupe…her fav plus its not hard to chew one. She is on pain meds…Metacam. She gets it twice a day along with Baytril (oral) and Gentamicin (placed in wound). I have been soaking the wound each day a few times for about five to ten minutes with luke warm water.

I also think she is not eating due to soreness or pain but she needs to eat something and I am afraid to syringe feed her now?!

[lygray]

 She ate two bites of the cataloupe…kinda oddly! She was tilting her head and chewed a lot, normal I guess for having less teeth and pain. Then she lost interest.

[bunnycutie]

what else does she like to eat? how about watermelon? it has a lot of water and it shouldn’t be too hard to chew.

[lygray]

 she likes her pellets but sometimes they get her sick…not a good idea right now! She also likes those honey sticks with nuts and berries. She loves apricots and dried papaya. She used to like peanut butter. She loves sweet corn-gets her sick though! She also loves bread. 

She is an odd bun who likes what she cannot have, even less now! I have not tried watermelon…good idea! 

[Sarita]

Ask Dr. Davis if he thinks she might benefit from some Buprenex (you can give this orally) for pain medicine. She may need a stronger pain medication.

Also ask about some gut motility drugs and see if he can show you how to do sub-q fluids at home to help keep her hydrated.

I think trying the critical care is best. Honestly the bread, peanut butter, and honey sticks aren’t good for her anyway and they won’t give her the fiber she needs that the critical care will. I don’t think she will be able to eat pellets right now because her mouth hurts. Try filling smaller syringes to feed the critical care with. I usually a 1 oz syringe to feed critical care with.

[lygray]

 Ok, tomorrow I will call Dr. Davis about what you said. Thank you.

I feel the same way about bread etc. but my dad thinks she should eat whatever she wants. Over a year of fighting, I banned my father from feeding her. He still does when I’m at work or not around. He just wont listen. Anyways. I also agree with the pellets which is why I have avoided giving her all of that stuff. She ate some more cantaloup and she chewed a little faster this time.

Unfortunately, as I stated earlier. I have no problem giving her the critical care by syringe, I want to do this but it is coming out of the open wound and not being swallowed. Should I just ignore this while giving it to her? 

 

[Sarita]

I would give her smaller amounts at a time maybe. Hopefully too she is getting some of the critical care.

Strength vibes to you and healing vibes to Lola.

[jerseygirl]

The criti care should give her the fibre and fluids she needs. You could also try syringe feed water or pedilyte too. Could your vet or a vet technician show you how to administer these without it escaping through the wound site? You could have her wound flushed at the same time. I’ve found just slowly syringing meds in side of mouth over the tongue has them lapping it up successfully. I imagine it’s be same for anything given by mouth. You can mix the criti care with baby food (applesauce?) to make it more appealing for her.
Also, the meds she’s on could be contributing to the poop situation – so hopefully this will clear up once she’s off them. Hope she heals well!

[lygray]

Ok, I began a journal about her feedings, meds, and wound to water soaking-need to keep track of all of it.

She just ate 3 cc’s of criti care with the solution made up of: 1 tbs criti care and 4 tbs water (wouldn’t go in 1ml syringe without more water)
I’d say that is more than she ate in one sitting all day. Of course, I caught her eating a piece of bread when I came home from work… but at least she was eating! Good sign. It took about 10 minutes to feed her just 3 cc’s without it coming out of her wound site.

I am creating a schedule for her including six criti care feedings. She is going in for a check up Monday so I feel Saturday at least, she should be primarily dependent on criti care…then I will observe her eating habits and take it from there.

Does this sound like a good plan for her? I am not an expert but like to be organized and give her the best. While putting in the Gentamicin in her wound a little while ago, I noticed some, very little, white stuff…kinda like puss. Should I worry about this? Her pain meds look like this also and have the same consistency…

[RabbitPam]

That sounds like a good plan. I would keep her off bread and other foods that aren’t strictly bunny diet foods, as you said you were doing. Even if the bread is soft going in, she doesn’t want to get any complications in her gut as a result.

If you have timothy based pellets, you could grind them into powder and add water or apple sauce to feed that too. See if she’ll lap it up.

Helping her keep the wound clean as she takes in the food is good. It’s a natural result of her struggle to cope with her condition. You are doing a good job.
Keep an eye on the white puss, and anything else you notice, and call it in to your vet for his opinion. It is easy to leave messages with questions. It may not necessarily mean a new trip to the vet’s office, but I don’t know any vet that won’t discuss post-surgical care with a patient’s owner as often as needed.

[lygray]

Update!

Lola is doing much better this morning. She was running and jumping in her cage when she saw me get out of bed…good sign. She did, however, have a huge lump of wet poop stuck to her but…HUGE! I found poop pellets in there so I assume very little was wet poop and she just couldnt urinate past the big poop blob…I gave her a very simple butt bath under the faucet and cleaned it all off. Otherwise, she took all her meds well and another feeding of critical care. I noticed she ate more food throughout the night and had more this morning when I fed her. I read that mint leaves help digestion on rabbits so I gave her some…should this be a snack as well because she pretty much inhaled them!

Her wound looks about the same and a little discolored, like pussy…I will call the vet about it. I have another critical care scheduled at 11:30… so that will be next. Thank you guys for helping me out with this. As I said, I have experience with rabbit recovery but this time, this was looking like a huge challenge and it helps to have you all help!

[RabbitPam]

Glad to hear she’s better this morning.
Let us know what the vet says.
You’re doing really well caring for her.

[lygray]

Ok, I left a few messages for the vet yesterday but she never called me back. I think she never saw those messages. I dont think she is in today. The wound looks a little white with a very slight tint of green and it is kinda scabby. Since I cant get ahold of Dr. Davis, maybe someone can tell me if this is normal?

This morning, Lola ate on her own eager to conquer the plate of greens but… the collar got in the way! It was kinda cute how she was so eager to eat yet couldnt make it to the food. I placed the food a little higher so she could bypass the collar situation! Took her meds well and I felt she did not need criti care this morning…so far!

[bunnycutie]

good. glad to hear her progress

[KatnipCrzy]

any updates?  did you talk to your vet?  Certain bacteria only responds to certain antibiotics- so it is important to keep your vet updated as a simple medicine change could make a difference.

How frustrating though to have the ouchie in her mouth area where she needs to be fed- feeding vs. keeping the wound clean would be tough to manage.  Sounds like she is feeling better though- please keep us updated!

Julie

[bunnytowne]

glad to hear she is feeling better especially eating.  Your Dad is being sneaky  giving her treats.  OH my.  Hopefully things will work out better

And her wound heals without infections.  I would keep trying for the vet as you have been doing.  Maybe just bring her in and see what happens if she can be seen and they may squeeze her in.  Worth a try she will have to be seen anyways with her ouchie being like it is.

[lygray]

Update!

She is doing better. She had an appt. tomorrow as a follow up and the vet just washed out the wound and said everything looked good! She is eating very well now, like the usual piggie she is! I am going to get more metacam today because she it out of it. She goes into the vet again Friday.

The vet said it was pus but when I saw her remove a little, It just looked like the criti care crusted there…deep in there. I dont think it is anything to worry about.

[lygray]

OMG! I just found a lump in her left leg. This is on the same side of her body as the abscess was. It was bleeding and I know because I was pulled out some loose hair with a scab on it. Does the vet usually place an IV or anything in the left back leg? I am starting to get frustrated with all of this. The lump looks like a dark purple color. Is this healthy? What is this? I hope this is not another abscess because these are harder to heal. She was trying to clean it earlier…

My vet is not in the office right now. She will be in tomorrow at 8am. I cannot call anyone about this right now!!! HELP!

[KatnipCrzy]

IV catheters and blood draws can be done on back legs also- and you can expect to see some bruising and maybe some slight swelling that will go away with a compression bandaging following removing the catheter or drawing blood.  If it has been more than 24 hours since she has had a blood draw or IV catheter in- I doubt it is related a blood draw- the blood would be clotted and not be bleeding and it is typically more of a bruise in the area than a bump that oozes.

If it was an IV cath- the area around it should be shaved to keep the area sterile and not provide an inlet for bacteria into the bloodstream.  Often for blooddraws the fur can be wetted with alcohol to keep it clean and help to find the vein.  But I think in rabbits ear veins are often used since they are so prominent.

Is there another vet you can call?  Is she still on antibiotics?

[lygray]

Ok. She is still on antibiotics. Her front paws were clearly used for IV and blood stuff because they are shaved. Her hind legs are not shaved however. It has been five days since her surgery. When I try to grab the bump, I am able to move it around with the skin. The scab particles I saw were very dried out. I am wondering if it was a bug bite or injury but she has not been anywhere other than her cage in my room and I have shielded all areas that could potenially hurt her. I did this the day she was in surgery. I do have one vet I can call, her old most recent vet but I know he probably wont know what it is, he hasnt really helped her the few years she was with him.

Tomorrow morning, I am going to the vet’s office to pick up a refill of her pain meds and I was thinking I should take Lola with me and have her leg looked at. I am trying to think of another reason she would have this lump. Nothing else comes to mind…

It is normal to look dark purple?

[Sarita]

I would take her and have the vet take a look tomorrow morning.

[RabbitPam]

Definitely take her with you to the vet’s this morning.
Please let us know what the vet says/does.

[lygray]

Ok, she said that she actually did draw blood from a vein in that leg and it is most likely a hematoma. She said to massage it and try to break it up. She said she would be very surprised if it was anything else. I was glad to hear this…no more surgery for now!

Lola did wake up with soft poops on her, I washed them off! She was fine all week until this morning. She is eating though…

[Sarita]

Continued vibes to Lola.

The soft poop is probably a result of the medications and the change in diet.

[lygray]

She was at the vet this morning. Dr. Davis did find some white blood cells in the lump on her leg as a result of an infection caused by the blood drawn on her surgery day. I am asked to continue antibiotics as it should also help this infection. Otherwise, she looks good but is still loosing some weight. How do I help her gain her weight back?

[lygray]

Ok, She wont eat almost at all. She wont eat her snacks and is very limp when I hold her. I took her out to play today and took the collar off, she got a little better but I am still worried.

Her husbunny actually attacked her earlier a few times and bit a chunk of fur off her back… Is this normal? They were the sweetest couple. I hope they will still be but I dont know how to gradually reaquaint them!

[Author]

Messages